Handsfree beam pattern configuration

ABSTRACT

An audio system that adjusts one or more beam patterns emitted by one or more loudspeaker arrays based on the preferences of users/listeners is described. The audio system includes an audio receiver that contains a listener location estimator, a listener identifier, and a voice command processor. Inputs from the listener location estimator, the listener identifier, and the voice command processor are fed into an array processor. The array processor drives the one or more loudspeaker arrays to emit beam patterns into the listening area based on inputs from each of these devices. By examining the location, preferred usage settings, and voice commands from listeners, the generated beam patterns are customized to the explicit and implicit preferences of the listeners with minimal direct input. Other embodiments are also described.

RELATED MATTERS

This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S.provisional application No. 61/907,946, filed Nov. 22, 2013.

FIELD

A system and method for configuring and adjusting beam patterns outputby a speaker system in response to voice commands is described. Otherembodiments are also described.

BACKGROUND

Loudspeaker arrays may generate beam patterns that focus sound in aspecific direction. For example, sets of transducers in a loudspeakerarray may be individually and separately driven according to differentparameters and settings, including delays and energy levels, to generateone or more beam patterns in a listening area. The beam patterns mayfocus sound at a particular object or individual in the listening area.

Although beam patterns allow sound to be focused in different directionsand/or at specific objects or individuals, configuring beam patterns isoften a complex and arduous process. For example, as noted above,configuration of a beam pattern may require individually and separatelyadjusting delays and energy levels of driving signals for eachtransducer in a loudspeaker array to achieve a desired result.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the invention is directed to an audio system thatadjusts one or more beam patterns emitted by one or more loudspeakerarrays based on the preferences of users/listeners. In one embodiment,the audio system includes an audio receiver that is comprised of alistener location estimator, a listener identifier, and a voice commandprocessor. The listener location estimator estimates the location of oneor more listeners in a listening area based on sensed voice commandsreceived from one or more microphone arrays. The listener identifierattempts to associate the one or more listeners with user profiles basedon comparisons of the voice commands with stored speech signatures. Theuser profiles are associated with preferred settings, which have beenpersonalized for each identified listener based on previous use of theaudio system. The voice command processor determines settings designatedby listeners in each voice command.

Inputs from the listener location estimator, the listener identifier,and the voice command processor are fed into an array processor. Thearray processor drives the one or more loudspeaker arrays to emit beampatterns into the listening area based on inputs from each of thesedevices. By examining the location, historical preferred usage settings,and voice commands from listeners, the generated beam patterns arecustomized to the explicit and implicit preferences of the listenerswith minimal direct input.

The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all aspects ofthe present invention. It is contemplated that the invention includesall systems and methods that can be practiced from all suitablecombinations of the various aspects summarized above, as well as thosedisclosed in the Detailed Description below and particularly pointed outin the claims filed with the application. Such combinations haveparticular advantages not specifically recited in the above summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example andnot by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings inwhich like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted thatreferences to “an” or “one” embodiment of the invention in thisdisclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and they mean atleast one.

FIG. 1 shows an overhead view of an audio system according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A shows a loudspeaker array housed in a single cabinet accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 2B shows a loudspeaker array housed in a single cabinet accordingto another embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a functional unit block diagram and some constituenthardware components of an audio receiver according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 4A-4D shows the estimated location of a listener in the listeningarea.

FIG. 5 shows a method for adjusting sound emitted by the loudspeakerarray according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show examples of a listener speaking separate voicecommands.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show beam patterns generated for listeners based onexample voice commands.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several embodiments are described with reference to the appendeddrawings are now explained. While numerous details are set forth, it isunderstood that some embodiments of the invention may be practicedwithout these details. In other instances, well-known circuits,structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not toobscure the understanding of this description.

FIG. 1 shows an overhead view of an audio system 1 according to oneembodiment of the invention. The audio system 1 may include an externalaudio source 2, an audio receiver 3, and a loudspeaker array 4. Theaudio system 1 outputs sound program content into a room or listeningarea 6 in which one or more intended listeners 5A and 5B are located.The listeners 5A and 5B may be seated at various positions in thelistening area 6 and the audio receiver 3 may adjust sound output by theloudspeaker array 4 according to commands and preferences of thelisteners 5A and 5B as will be described in further detail below.

The external audio source 2 may be any device capable of transmittingone or more audio streams representing sound program content to theaudio receiver 3 for processing. For example, the external audio source2 in the system 1 of FIG. 1 is a laptop computer that transmits one ormore audio streams representing sound program content to the audioreceiver 3 for processing either through a wired or wireless connection.In other embodiments, the external audio source 2 may instead be one ormore of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, amobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or mobile music player), and aremote media server (e.g., an Internet streaming music or movieservice), a set top box, a television, a game system, a personal videorecorder, a DVD player, a Bluray player, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the components of the audio system 1 are distributedand contained in separate units. In other embodiments, the audioreceiver 3 is integrated within the loudspeaker array 4 to provide astandalone unit. In this embodiment, the loudspeaker array 4 receivesone or more audio streams representing sound program content directlyfrom the external audio source 2 either through wired or wirelessconnections.

Although described as receiving audio streams from the external audiosource 2, the audio receiver 3 may access audio streams stored in alocal storage medium. In this embodiment, the audio receiver 3 retrievesthe audio streams from the local storage medium for processing withoutinteraction with an external audio source 2.

As will be described in further detail below, the audio receiver 3 maybe any type of device or set of devices for processing streams of audioand driving one or more loudspeaker arrays 4. For example, the audioreceiver 3 may be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tabletcomputer, a mobile device, a home theatre audio receiver, or a set ofhardware processors and logic structures capable of processing audiosignals.

Turning now to the loudspeaker array 4, FIG. 2A shows one loudspeakerarray 4 with multiple transducers 7 housed in a single cabinet 8. Inthis example, ten transducers 7 may be aligned in a single row in thecabinet 8 to form a sound-bar style loudspeaker array 4. In anotherexample shown in FIG. 2B, a loudspeaker array 4 may have thirty-twodistinct transducers 7 evenly aligned in eight rows and four columnswithin the cabinet 8. In other embodiments, different numbers oftransducers 7 may be used with uniform or non-uniform spacing. Althoughshown as aligned in a flat plane or straight line, the transducers 7 maybe aligned in a curved fashion along an arc.

The transducers 7 may be any combination of full-range drivers,mid-range drivers, subwoofers, woofers, and tweeters. Each of thetransducers 7 may use a lightweight diaphragm, or cone, connected to arigid basket, or frame, via a flexible suspension that constrains a coilof wire (e.g., a voice coil) to move axially through a cylindricalmagnetic gap. When an electrical audio signal is applied to the voicecoil, a magnetic field is created by the electric current in the voicecoil, making it a variable electromagnet. The coil and the transducers'7 magnetic system interact, generating a mechanical force that causesthe coil (and thus, the attached cone) to move back and forth, therebyreproducing sound under the control of the applied electrical audiosignal coming from a source (e.g., a signal processor, a computer, andan audio receiver).

Each transducer 7 may be individually and separately driven to producesound in response to separate and discrete audio signals. By allowingthe transducers 7 in the loudspeaker array 4 to be individually andseparately driven according to different parameters and settings(including delays and energy levels), the loudspeaker array 4 mayproduce numerous directivity/beam patterns to simulate or betterrepresent respective channels of sound program content played accordingto the preferences of the listeners 5. For example, beam patterns ofdifferent widths/directivities and angles may be emitted by theloudspeaker array 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the loudspeaker array 4 may include wires or conduitfor connecting to the audio receiver 3. For example, the loudspeakerarray 4 may include multiple wiring points and the audio receiver 3 mayinclude complementary wiring points. The wiring points may be bindingposts or spring clips on the back of the loudspeaker array 4 and theaudio receiver 3, respectively. The wires are separately wrapped aroundor are otherwise coupled to respective wiring points to electricallycouple the loudspeaker array 4 to the audio receiver 3.

In other embodiments, the loudspeaker array 4 may be coupled to theaudio receiver 3 using wireless protocols such that the array 4 and theaudio receiver 3 are not physically joined but maintain aradio-frequency connection. For example, the loudspeaker array 4 mayinclude a WiFi receiver for receiving audio signals from a correspondingWiFi transmitter in the audio receiver 3. In some embodiments, theloudspeaker array 4 may include integrated amplifiers for driving thetransducers 7 using the wireless audio signals received from the audioreceiver 3. As noted above, the loudspeaker array 4 may be a standaloneunit that includes components for signal processing and for driving eachtransducer 7 according to the techniques described below.

Although shown in FIG. 1 as including a single loudspeaker array 4, theaudio system 1 may include any number of loudspeaker arrays 4 that arecoupled to the audio receiver 3 through wireless or wired connections.For example, the audio system 1 may include six loudspeaker arrays 4that respectively represent a front left channel, a front centerchannel, a front right channel, a rear right surround channel, a rearleft surround channel, and a low frequency channel (e.g., a subwoofer)of a piece of sound program content. In another embodiment, the audiosystem 1 may include two loudspeaker arrays 4 that represent front leftand front right channels of a piece of stereo sound program content.

FIG. 3 shows a functional unit block diagram and some constituenthardware components of the audio receiver 3 according to one embodiment.The components shown in FIG. 3 are representative of elements includedin the audio receiver 3 and should not be construed as precluding othercomponents. Each element of FIG. 3 will be described by way of examplebelow.

The audio receiver 3 may include multiple inputs 9 for receiving one ormore channels of sound program content using electrical, radio, oroptical signals from one or more external audio sources 2. The inputs 9may be a set of digital inputs 9A and 9B and analog inputs 9C and 9Dincluding a set of physical connectors located on an exposed surface ofthe audio receiver 3. For example, the inputs 9 may include aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) input, an optical digitalinput (Toslink), a coaxial digital input, and a phono input. In oneembodiment, the audio receiver 3 receives audio signals through awireless connection with the external audio source 2. In thisembodiment, the inputs 9 include a wireless adapter for communicatingwith the external audio source 2 using wireless protocols. For example,the wireless adapter may be capable of communicating using Bluetooth,IEEE 802.11x, cellular Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),cellular Code division multiple access (CDMA), or Long Term Evolution(LTE) protocols.

In one embodiment, the external audio source 2 and the audio receiver 3are integrated in one indivisible unit. In this embodiment, theloudspeaker array 4 may also be integrated into the same unit. Forexample, the external audio source 2 and the audio receiver 3 may be inone computing unit with transducers 7 integrated in left and right sidesof the unit.

Returning to the audio receiver 3, general signal flow from the inputs 9will now be described. Looking first at the digital inputs 9A and 9B,upon receiving a digital audio signal through the input 9A and/or 9B,the audio receiver 3 uses a decoder 10A or 10B to decode the electrical,optical, or radio signals into a set of audio channels representingsound program content. For example, the decoder 10A may receive a singlesignal containing six audio channels (e.g., a 5.1 signal) and decode thesignal into six audio channels. The decoders 10 may be capable ofdecoding an audio signal encoded using any codec or technique, includingAdvanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG Audio Layer II, MPEG Audio Layer III,and Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC).

Turning to the analog inputs 9C and 9D, each analog signal received byanalog inputs 9C and 9D may represent a single audio channel of thesound program content. Accordingly, multiple analog inputs 9C and 9D maybe needed to receive each channel of a piece of sound program content.The audio channels may be digitized by respective analog-to-digitalconverters 11A and 11B to form digital audio channels.

The digital audio channels from each of the decoders 10A and 10B and theanalog-to-digital converters 11A and 11B are fed to the multiplexer 12.The multiplexer 12 selectively outputs a set of audio channels based ona control signal 13. The control signal 13 may be received from acontrol circuit or processor in the audio receiver 3 or from an externaldevice. For example, a control circuit controlling a mode of operationof the audio receiver 3 may output the control signal 13 to themultiplexer 12 for selectively outputting a set of digital audiochannels.

The multiplexer 12 feeds the selected digital audio channels to an arrayprocessor 14. The channels output by the multiplexer 12 are processed bythe array processor 14 to produce a set of processed driving signals.The processing may operate in both the time and frequency domains usingtransforms such as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The array processor14 may be a special purpose processor such as application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a general purpose microprocessor, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal controller, or aset of hardware logic structures (e.g., filters, arithmetic logic units,and dedicated state machines). The array processor 14 generates the setof signals for driving the transducers 7 in the loudspeaker array 4based on inputs from a listener location estimator 15, a listeneridentifier 16, and/or a voice command processor 17.

The listener location estimator 15 estimates the location of one or morehuman listeners 5 in the listening area 6. For example, the locationestimator 15 may estimate the physical coordinates of a listener 5 inthe listening area 6 or angle of a listener 5 relative to theloudspeaker array 4. FIG. 4A shows the estimated location of thelistener 5A in the listening area 6. The estimated location is definedby coordinates x, y, relative to a side of the loudspeaker array 4.Although shown in FIG. 4A as Cartesian coordinates, the estimatedlocation of the listener 5A may be represented as an angle relative tothe loudspeaker array 4 as shown in FIG. 4B (e.g., listener 5A isdegrees to the left of the longitudinal axis of the loudspeaker array4). Although described in relation to a single listener 5, the locationestimator 15 may estimate the location of multiple listeners 5 in thelistening area 6 (e.g., the listeners 5A and 5B).

The listener location estimator 15 may use any device or algorithm forestimating the location of the listeners 5. In one embodiment, one ormore microphones 18A-18D may be communicatively coupled to the listenerlocation estimator 15 for assisting in determining the location of oneor more listeners 5 in the listening area 6. In one embodiment, themicrophones 18A-18D are directly coupled to an audio codec 19. The audiocodec 19 may be used for coding or decoding a data stream or signalsreceived from the microphones 18A-18D. In one embodiment, the audiocodec 19 performs conversion between the analog domain and the digitaldomain for the microphone signals produced by the microphones 18A-18D,in addition to digital audio signal processing.

In one embodiment, the microphones 18A-18D are integrated in theloudspeaker array 4 and microphone signals corresponding to sensedsounds are transmitted to the audio receiver 3 using one or morewireless protocols (e.g., Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11x). For example, asshown in FIGS. 1, 4A, and 4B, the microphones 18A-18D are integratedinto the loudspeaker array 4. The microphones 18A-18D may be any type ofacoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor, including aMicroElectrical-Mechanical System (MEMS) microphone, a piezoelectricmicrophone, an electret condenser microphone, or a dynamic microphone.The microphones 18A-18D may provide a range of polar patterns, such ascardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-eight. In one embodiment, thepolar patterns of the microphones 18A-18D may vary continuously overtime.

In one embodiment, the microphones 18A-18D may form a microphone array18. The listener location estimator 15 may receive inputs from themicrophone array 18 and estimate the location of a listener 5 based onthese inputs. In one embodiment, the microphone array 18 may sense avoice command from a listener 5 in the listening area 6 and estimate thelocation of the listener 5 based on the sensed voice command. Forexample, the listener 5 may command the audio system 1 to output soundby saying “Play music.” In response to sensing by the microphone array18 this command, the location estimator 15 may begin attempting tolocate the speaking listener 5 in the listening area 6. In anotherexample, the listener 5 may instigate the location estimator 15 tolocate the listener 5 in the listening area 6 by greeting/addressing theaudio system 1 (e.g., “Hello System” where the audio system 1 is named“System”).

In one embodiment, the listener location estimator 15 estimates thelocation of one or more of the listeners 5 in the listening area 6 bydetermining the angle of arrival for the sensed sounds (i.e., the sensedvoice command). For example, the location estimator 15 may estimate theangle of arrival by running sensed microphone signals received from themicrophone array 18 through a number of beamformers pointing in adiscrete number of angles/directions. The energy output from eachbeamformer is calculated and the direction with the largest energy ischosen as the angle of arrival. Although described in relation to theangle or direction of the listener 5 to the loudspeaker array 4, in oneembodiment the location estimator 15 may also estimate the distance ofthe listener 5 from the loudspeaker array 4 based on the sensedmicrophone signals received from the microphone array 18.

In one embodiment, multiple microphone arrays 18 may be used to estimatethe location of one or more of the listeners 5 in the listening area 6.For example, as shown in FIG. 4C, multiple loudspeaker arrays 4A and 4Bmay each include separate microphone arrays 18 composed of microphones18A-18D and 18E-18H, respectively. Knowing the relative geometry of theloudspeaker arrays 4A and 4B, the location of one or more listeners 5may be estimated using triangulation. In this example, the estimatedlocation of the listeners 5 may be used to adjust beam patternsgenerated by loudspeaker arrays 4A and 4B for angle and distance. Forexample, the loudspeaker array 4A that is farther from the listener 5Bthan loudspeaker array 4B may have its gain increased such that theaudio system 1 sounds more balanced to the listener 5B.

In another embodiment, multiple individual microphones 18A-18C may beused to estimate the location of one or more of the listeners 5 in thelistening area 6. For example, as shown in FIG. 4D, multiple loudspeakerarrays 4A-4C may each include separate microphones 18A-18C. Knowing therelative geometry of the loudspeaker arrays 4A-4C, the location of oneor more listeners 5 may be estimated using time delays of arrival of thesound at each microphone 18A-18C. For example, if the microphone 18Bsenses a voice command a time d_(AB) later than the microphone 18A, thenthe listener 5B sits on a constant delay line AB. Similarly, ifmicrophone 18B senses the voice command a time d_(BC) later than themicrophone 18C, then the listener 5B sits on a constant delay line BC.The intersection of the delay lines AB and BC represents an estimate ofthe location of the listener 5B. The estimated location of the listener5B may be used to adjust beam patterns generated by loudspeaker arrays4A-4C.

In one embodiment, the audio receiver 3 may also include a listeneridentifier 16 for determining the identity of the listeners 5 in thelistening area 6. In one embodiment, the listener identifier 16 receivessignals from the microphone array 18. The signals may represent voicecommands or other speech spoken by a listener 5. The listener identifier16 compares these speech signals against patterns corresponding to knownusers/listeners. For example, the audio receiver 3 may include a userprofile database 20 which stores speech patterns of knownusers/listeners. The stored speech patterns may be recorded duringnormal use of the audio system 1 or during a configuration of the audiosystem 1.

Based on the comparison, the listener identifier 16 associates speechfrom a listener 5 with a known user profile. The user profile mayinclude one or more preferences for the identified listener 5. Forexample, the preferences may include preferred volume settings,preferred bass level settings, preferred treble level settings,preferred reverberation level settings, preferred equalization settings,a common seating spot in the listening area 6, and/or other similarsettings/preferences. In one embodiment, upon failure to match speechfrom a listener 5 with stored speech patterns associated with userprofiles, the listener identifier 16 may generate a new user profile forthe new listener 5. The newly created user profile may be initializedwith default settings. As the new listener 5 uses the audio system 1over time and alters settings based on preference (e.g., using voicecommands processed by the voice command processor 17), the user profilesettings may adapt to match these preferences.

For example, in response to the listener 5A's request to increase thevolume, the listener 5A's user profile may be updated to indicate apreference for higher volume. Accordingly, during subsequent use of theaudio system 1 by the listener 5A, the volume of audio output by theaudio receiver 3 and the loudspeaker array 4 may begin at a highervolume. Similar adjustments may be made to other user profilepreferences based on the use of the audio system 1 over time by each ofthe listeners 5.

In one embodiment, user profile settings are content based such thateach setting in a listener 5's user profile may have separate values fordifferent content types. For example, a volume setting may have separatepreferred values for music, movies, television, etc. These contentdelineations may be further divided based on genre (e.g., separatevolume settings for comedy movies, honor movies, and drama movies).

In one embodiment, the user profile setting may be similarly divided bytime of day. For example, preferred volume settings may be based on timeof day such that during the morning hours a preferred volume setting isat a first value (e.g., 15 dB) and during the afternoon hours thepreferred volume setting is at a second value (e.g., 20 dB). Althoughdescribed in relation to volume settings, each user profile setting foreach listener 5 may be similarly divided.

In one embodiment, the audio receiver 3 may also include a voice commandprocessor 17. The voice command processor 17 receives signals from themicrophone array 18 either directly or indirectly through the audiocodec 19. The microphone signals may represent voice commands spoken bya listener 5. The voice command processor 17 processes these microphonesignals to determine the intended command from the listener 5 andtransmits corresponding control signals to the array processor 14 tocarry out the command. For example, the microphone signals maycorrespond to the listener 5A stating “Hi, System!” or “System, add me!”In response to receipt of these microphone signals, the voice commandprocessor 17 may transmit control signals to cause the array processor14 to generate a beam pattern directed at the listener 5A. In thisexample, the beam pattern may be generated also based on inputs from thelistener location estimator 15 and the listener identifier 16 such thatthe beam pattern is focused on the current location of the listener 5Aand according to preferences of the listener 5A.

In one embodiment, the listener 5A may focus a beam pattern at presetzones, positions, or spots in the listening area 6 instead of theestimated location of the listener 5 determined by the listener locationestimator 15. For example, the listener 5A may state “Spot 2 at halfvolume.” In this example, spot 2 may be preset to be the right andforward-most seat on a couch in the listening area 6 where the listener5B is located. In response to this request from listener 5A, the voicecommand processor 17 transmits control signals such that the arrayprocessor 14 drives the loudspeaker array 4 to generate a beam patternat spot 2 in the listening area 6 with half volume.

In one embodiment, a beam pattern may be directed at an identifiedlistener 5 based on historical usage of the audio system 1. For example,after continual use of the audio system 1 by listener 5A at 6:00 PM forseveral days with sound beams directed at predefined spots 1 and 2,subsequent use of the audio system 1 by listener 5A at or around 6:00 PMwill default to directing sound beams at predefined spots 1 and 2. Inone embodiment, the audio system 1 may default to the last knownposition of one more listeners 5 upon the listener location estimator 15being unable to estimate the location of the listeners 5. The last knowlocations of the listeners 5 may be stored in the user profile database20 along with common/preferred seating locations in the listening area6.

As described above, the voice command processor 17 analyzes voicecommands to determine operations to perform. The voice commands may bepreset operations. For example, the listener 5A may state “Equalize fortrance music.” In response to this request, the voice command processor17 transmits control signals which cause the array processor 17 toequalize the input audio based on preset equalization settings fortrance music. In another example, the listener 5A may state “System,flood the room!” In response to this request, the voice commandprocessor 17 transmits control signals which cause the array processor17 to drive the loudspeaker array 4 to generate a wide beam pattern thatencompasses the entire listening area 6.

As described above, based on inputs from the listener location estimator15, the listener identifier 16, and/or the voice command processor 17one or more audio channels of a piece of sound program content aremodified by the array processor 14 to generate beam patterns accordingto preferences of the listeners 5. The processed segments of the soundprogram content are passed from the array processor 14 to the one ormore digital-to-analog converters 21 to produce one or more distinctanalog signals. The analog signals produced by the digital-to-analogconverters 21 are fed to the power amplifiers 22 to drive selectedtransducers 7 of the loudspeaker array 4 to produce the desired beampatterns.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a method 30 for adjusting sound emitted by theloudspeaker array 4 will be described. The operations of method 30 maybe performed by one or more components of the audio receiver 3, theloudspeaker array 4, and other devices of the audio system 1.

In one embodiment, the method 30 begins at operation 31 with a listener5 speaking a voice command. The voice command may indicate the listener5's desire to have a sound beam focused on him/her or a designatedlocation in the listening area 6, adjust sound emitted by theloudspeaker array 4 (e.g., volume, equalization, and reverberation),and/or other similar modifications. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show examples ofthe listener 5A speaking separate voice commands.

Following a listener uttering a voice command, operation 32 senses thevoice command using one or more microphone arrays 18. The microphonearrays 18 may be incorporated into one or more loudspeaker arrays 4,respectively, or coupled directly to the audio receiver 3. Microphonesignals corresponding to the sensed voice command may be relayed to theaudio receiver 3 for further processing as will be described in furtherdetail below.

At operation 33, the microphone signals are compared against one or morespeech patterns/signatures associated with user profiles to identify thespeaking listener 5. The comparison may use any known technique forperforming voice recognition such that the speaking listener 5 isidentified. In one embodiment, upon failure to match speech from alistener 5 with stored speech patterns/signatures associated with userprofiles, operation 33 may generate a new user profile for the newlistener 5. The newly created user profile may be initialized withdefault settings. As the new listener 5 uses the audio system 1 overtime and alters settings based on preference (e.g., voice commands), theuser profile settings may adapt to match these preferences.

At operation 34, the method 30 determines settings to apply to a beampattern that will be generated by the audio receiver 3 and theloudspeaker array 4. The settings may be based on indications in thesensed voice command, the estimated location of the speaking/identifiedlistener 5, and/or preferences stored in a user profile associated withthe speaking/identified listener 5. For example, operation 35 maydetermine an estimated location of the speaking/identified listener 5using the listener location estimator 15 as described above. Using thisestimated location, operation 35 may determine a direction setting forsteering the beam pattern. In another example, the sensed voice commandmay state “Reduce sound to half volume.” In response to this voicecommand, operation 35 may determine a volume setting for the beampattern. In still another example, operation 35 may determineequalization settings for audio emitted through the beam pattern basedon stored preferences in an associated user profile.

Based on the example voice command in FIG. 6A, operation 34 maydetermine settings for a first beam pattern directed to spot 1 with halfvolume and second beam pattern directed to spot 2 with full volume.Other settings may be determined based on the identity of listeners 5Aand 5B, the time of day, the audio content, etc. Based on the examplevoice command in FIG. 6A, operation 34 may determine settings for afirst beam pattern directed at the estimated location of the listener 5Aand a second beam pattern directed at the estimated location of thelistener 5B. Other settings may be determined based on the identity oflisteners 5A and 5B, the time of day, the audio content, etc.

At operation 35, the method 30 applies the determined settings togenerate tailored beam patterns without significant overhead andinteraction by the listeners 5A and 5B. In particular, the generatedbeam patterns are customized to the explicit and implicit preferences ofthe listeners 5A and/or 5B with minimal input from the listeners 5A and5B. FIGS. 7A and 7B show beam patterns generated for the listeners 5Aand 5B based on the voice commands in FIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively. Inone embodiment, the method 30 is continually performed to modify beampatterns for listeners 5 as preferences and positions of the listeners 5change over time. In one embodiment, operation 35 updates preferencesfor respective user profiles stored in the user profile database 20based on currently used settings. This adjustment ensures that listenersettings are up-to-date and reflective of the current preferences ofeach listener 5.

As explained above, an embodiment of the invention may be an article ofmanufacture in which a machine-readable medium (such as microelectronicmemory) has stored thereon instructions which program one or more dataprocessing components (generically referred to here as a “processor”) toperform the operations described above. In other embodiments, some ofthese operations might be performed by specific hardware components thatcontain hardwired logic (e.g., dedicated digital filter blocks and statemachines). Those operations might alternatively be performed by anycombination of programmed data processing components and fixed hardwiredcircuit components.

While certain embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat the invention is not limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those of ordinary skill in the art. The description is thus tobe regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

1. A method for adjusting sound emitted by a loudspeaker array,comprising: sensing, by one or more microphone arrays, a voice commandfrom a user in a listening area; determining a location in the listeningarea to steer a beam pattern based on the sensed voice command; andsteering the beam pattern at the determined location in the listeningarea.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the location in thelistening area comprises: feeding microphone signals received from themicrophone arrays to a set of beamformers pointing in a discrete numberof directions in the listening area; calculating the energy output fromeach beamformer; and determining an angle of arrival of the voicecommand based on the beamformer with the largest energy output, whereinthe determined location to steer the beam pattern is in the direction ofthe angle of arrival of the voice command.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving microphone signals from the microphonearrays; and comparing the microphone signals with one or more speechsignatures associated with stored user profiles to determine a match. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein determining the location in the listeningarea comprises: retrieving a preferred location setting from the matcheduser profile, wherein the preferred location setting is set based onhistorical usage habits by the user.
 5. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: retrieving one or more preferred settings from the matcheduser profile, wherein the beam pattern is generated based on the one ormore preferred settings.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:generating a new user profile in response to being unable to determine amatch between the microphone signals and the one or more speechsignatures associated with the stored user profiles.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving microphone signals correspondingto the voice command from the microphone arrays; processing themicrophone signals to determine one or more preferred settings for thebeam pattern indicated by the voice command, wherein the beam pattern isgenerated based on the determined one or more preferred settings.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the one or more preferred settings indicate apredefined location in the listening area to steer the beam pattern. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more preferred settingsindicate one or more of volume, bass, treble, and reverberation ratio ofthe beam pattern.
 10. An audio system for adjusting sound emitted by oneor more loudspeaker arrays, comprising: a plurality of microphones tosense a voice command from a listener; a voice command processor todetermine a first setting to apply to a beam pattern emitted by one ofthe one or more loudspeaker arrays based on signals representing thesensed voice command received from the plurality of microphones; and anarray processor to generate a set of driving signals to drive eachtransducer in the one of the one or more loudspeaker arrays to emit thebeam pattern based on the determined first setting.
 11. The audio systemof claim 10, further comprising: a listener location estimator toestimate the location of the listener based on the signals representingthe sensed voice command received from the plurality of microphones,wherein the array processor generates the driving signals to steer thebeam pattern at the estimated location.
 12. The audio system of claim11, further comprising: a user profile database that stores speechsignatures for one or more known listeners; and a listener identifier tocompare the signals representing the sensed voice command received fromthe plurality of microphones with each of the stored speech signaturesto identify a user profile corresponding to the listener.
 13. The audiosystem of claim 12, wherein the listener identifier feeds a secondsetting associated with the user profile corresponding to the listenerto the array processor, wherein the array processor generates thedriving signals to emit the beam pattern based on the second setting.14. The audio system of claim 13, wherein when the listener locationestimator is unable to estimate the location of the listener, the secondsetting is a preferred location corresponding to the listener to directthe beam pattern.
 15. The audio system of claim 10, wherein theplurality of microphones form one or more microphone arrays and eachmicrophone array is integrated in a separate loudspeaker array.
 16. Theaudio system of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of microphonesare integrated in a separate loudspeaker array.
 17. An article ofmanufacture for adjusting sound emitted by a loudspeaker array,comprising: a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that storesinstructions which, when executed by a processor in a computing device,detect, from microphone signals, a voice command from a user in alistening area; determine a location in the listening area to steer abeam pattern based on the detected voice command; and steer the beampattern at the determined location in the listening area.
 18. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium stores further instruction which whenexecuted by the processor: feed the microphone signals to a set ofbeamformers pointing in a discrete number of directions in the listeningarea; calculate the energy output from each beamformer; and determine anangle of arrival of the voice command based on the beamformer with thelargest energy output, wherein the determined location to steer the beampattern is in the direction of the angle of arrival of the voicecommand.
 19. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores furtherinstruction which when executed by the processor: compare the microphonesignals with one or more speech signatures associated with stored userprofiles to determine a match.
 20. The article of manufacture of claim19, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storesfurther instruction which when executed by the processor: retrieve apreferred location setting from the matched user profile, wherein thepreferred location setting is set based on historical usage habits bythe user.
 21. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores furtherinstruction which when executed by the processor: retrieve one or morepreferred settings from the matched user profile, wherein the beampattern is generated based on the one or more preferred settings. 22.The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium stores further instruction which whenexecuted by the processor: generate a new user profile in response tobeing unable to determine a match between the microphone signals and theone or more speech signatures associated with the stored user profiles.23. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium stores further instruction which whenexecuted by the processor: process the microphone signals to determineone or more preferred settings for the beam pattern indicated by thevoice command, wherein the beam pattern is generated based on thedetermined one or more preferred settings.
 24. The article ofmanufacture of claim 23, wherein the one or more preferred settingsindicate a predefined location in the listening area to steer the beampattern.
 25. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein the one ormore preferred settings indicate one or more of volume, bass, treble,and reverberation ratio of the beam pattern.